Generally, after a credit card has been issued from a card company or a bank, there is no almost limit in using the credit card if only the validity of the credit card is verified by placing the credit card in contact with (or close to) a credit card reader in a shop or other point of purchase connected online to a server.
However, despite the high convenience of a credit card, a credit card also has some bad points.
For example, in the case of a magnetic credit card, most of the user's card information is recorded into the magnetic strip on the card, and thus if there is an apparatus capable of reading the magnetic strip on the card, the card information can be illegally used by unauthorized persons.
As an alternative for a magnetic credit card, a smart card (or an IC card) in which an IC (Integrated Circuit) is embedded has come into use. The smart card has the advantage of improved security compared to the magnetic credit card, but it is disadvantageous in that expenses incurred for the necessary infrastructure construction thereof are high compared to the magnetic credit card.
Since both a magnetic credit card and an electronic credit card are carried and used by a person, there is a risk that they may be lost or stolen. In a case where credit cards are lost, they can be illegally used by unauthorized persons.
Also, when a credit card is used on the internet, payment is mainly performed based on only card number and validity date information, and thus owner information associated with the card number and validity date must be managed not to be exposed to unauthorized parties.
With regard to this problem, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0096353 discloses that a one-time virtual card is issued to a portable terminal so that payment can be performed by the portable terminal using a one-time virtual card number.
To do so, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0096353 has suggested a one-time virtual card service system and a method thereof, the system being configured such that a proper ID of a portable terminal, private information, and actual card information are provided to an issuing server, a one-time virtual card is generated after a user has been identified by the issuing server, and the generated one-time virtual card number is obtained from the issuing server in such a manner that a one-time virtual card number is generated whenever the user of the portable terminal pays for an expense.
However, in Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0096353, since a VAN (Value Added Network) server must inquire about the validity of a one-time virtual card number to the issuing server from which the one-time virtual card number is issued after receiving the one-time virtual card number from a card reader, and a relay server must verify the validity of the one-time virtual card number through the issuing server. As such, the existing payment system is not completely used, but an additional issuing server is involved in the existing payment system, and the relay server must verify a one-time virtual card number after inquiring about validity thereof to the issuing server, and thereafter the existing payment system is used.
In addition to this, in Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0096353, a one-time virtual card number must be issued whenever payment is performed using a portable terminal, and accordingly, it cannot be deemed convenient to use the one-time virtual card number compared to use of an actual card.